Community Bands and Pocket Trumpets!

[rdt1959]

Last night, I and two friends played with a community orchestra for the first time. (We have been searching for a community band for almost 2 years and FINALLY found one completely by chance). The conductor was brave enough to sit me in the first trumpet section, which is more a statement on the abilities of the second trumpets than on my abilities!

The girl sitting next to me (a junior in high school if I remember correctly) was playing a Bach pocket trumpet! Since I was too busy trying to get through the rehearsal without embarrassing myself too badly, I really did not get a chance to check out her sound very much.

I am wondering how this is going to work out for the trumpet section. Is she going to have trouble blending in with everybody? (the conductor kept harping on the "blending" issue to the trumpets and saxaphones. He just made evil faces at the flutes though).

I am under the impression that the pocket trumpets have intonation problems. Is that correct?

Just curious what some of you might think about this.

[Tootsall]

I don't know about the intonation problems that could occur... from your description of the relative "age" or experience of the ensemble, intonation might be problematic regardless of what kind of trumpets are being used! I would be more concerned about the difficulties of the 2nd being heard "out front". You know that the lower the parts (within a trumpet section), the stronger the player should sound so as to achieve balance...the higher parts will sound "louder" to the audience even if you are both producing the same "volume". The 2nd part is particularly important because they should have the range and skill to support the 1st but at the same time be strong enough in the low register that they can "fill in" the sound when required. You didn't say whether there is a 3rd or 4th.

With your awareness of sound, it would be easy for you to "back off" a bit on the 1st parts to achieve sectional balance but then would the trumpets be getting buried by the woodwinds? (a nasty prospect but one that happens all too often!) Reckon it's "run what ya brung" (true for most volunteer organisations) but the only way to really tell where your section might have problems is to have a "sectional" practice (maybe meet 1/2 or 3/4 hour early some evening?) and find out how everyone's intonation floats around and then see if it's the instruments or the players! (my bet is on the players).

Glad you finally found a group to play with though....it can only be "up and away" from here on!